The present invention relates to a tumbling toy defined by a housing having a weighted ball disposed for rolling movement therein and that produces an end-over-end tumbling action of the toy.
Tumbling toys of the variety embodied in the subject invention are well known and are normally referred to as a "Mexican jumping bean". Prior known constructions have generally included an elongated housing having rounded end walls the curvature of which was designed to accommodate a weighted ball thereagainst. The weighted ball was movable between the end walls of the housing to produce the tumbling end-over-end action characteristic of the "jumping bean". Examples of this type of tumbling toy as represented by the prior issued U.S. Pat. Nos. are the patents to Gowdy #1,214,454, Meyers #1,254,428, White #1,272,588, Dickerson #1,373,312 and Johnson #2,585,780. Another example of a tumbling toy utilizing the concept of the "jumping bean" is the patent to Johnson #2,585,780.
All of the above referred to patents utilized a weighted ball that was movable within a housing having spherically shaped ends, thereby producing the tumbling action; however, since the center of gravity of the weighted ball when it was located in an end position was substantially the same as the center of the outside curves of the housing ends, the toy was less likely to move in the tumbling action to an upright position as the energy in the rolling ball was expended. Although the prior known constructions did produce the tumbling action by the transmittal of energy through the ball as it traveled down the tube toward the spherical ends, the prior known tumbling toys were less likely to execute the tumbling action except after only one or two rotations. Further, because of the relationship of the center of gravity of the ball and the center of the outside curve of the spherical end walls, the prior known constructions were likely to come to rest in a horizontally disposed position as opposed to a vertical upright position that would occur if the weighted ball were located at the bottommost end of the housing.